Crafting & Cooking In The Everyday Blessings Of Life

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Monthly Archives: November 2013

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Hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving! I’m especially thankful for the fact that I got to have two Thanksgiving dinners this year!! 😉 My family is so sweet and moved our normal Thanksgiving dinner up a week so the few of us who were going to be out of town could all still get together with everyone…after all, it’s not the same if all 20 of us aren’t there!! On Thanksgiving day we got to go over to some of our extended family’s home in Chicago for a fantastic dinner there as well! It was great getting to see everyone and celebrate all the blessings we’ve been given! I want to remember to be thankful the other 364 days of the year too!!

I wanted to share this video that a friend emailed me this week. It was one of those videos that makes you smile without you even realizing it. The video is 20 Things We Should Say More Often. It’s so simple, but what a great message! How cool would it be to see what would happen if we said those things more often??

YOU’RE AWESOME!!! AND I WANT TO SHARE A CORNDOG WITH YOU!!! (if you don’t get it, it’s because you didn’t watch the video- watch it!!)

Ornament Frame

I love the idea of making sure not to skip Thanksgiving by rushing to Christmas. BUT, now it is time for getting ready for Christmas! I saw some cute gold and glittered ornaments at the Dollar Tree and thought that I HAD to come up with something to do with them since I already made an ornament wreath last year. I loved the way this came out, and the best part is, the whole project only cost me $6.

What You Need:

8 x 10 photo frame- You can get this at the dollar store because the actual frame doesn’t have to be thick. Some of the ornaments will be glued around the outer edge of the glass

Glue Gun

3 different sized sets of ornaments- I bought packs of 15, 12 and 5 from the Dollar Tree:

2 packs of 15 ornaments of the smallest size; about 1″ wide

1 packs of 12 ornaments of the medium size; about 1.5″ wide

2 packs of 5 ornaments of the largest size; about 2″ wide

Book pages or a photo (optional)

Instructables:

Step 1: Start gluing the biggest sized ornaments on first. Space them out randomly around the frame. Keep these all on the actual frame part, as opposed to gluing any to the glass at this point.

A couple things to note:

1. Be sure not to glue ornaments on the bottom edge that hang out of the frame too far if you are going to be standing it up to display.

2. I know it can be tedious, but do take the time to pull off all the glue strings as you go along. It is one of those projects that requires you to go back and forth with the hot glue a lot, so there are tons of little glue tails that get created and will detract from your project if you don’t remove them. And definitely don’t wait til the end to do this. You won’t be able to get in between all the ornaments at the end.

Step 2: Next go through gluing the medium sized ornaments. Some of these can be on the outer area of the glass. They can also be on the rim of the frame so that some of the ornament hangs over the glass.

Step 3: Add the small ornaments. Fill in all the gaps. Glue the ornaments to one another if there isn’t room for them to touch the actual frame or glass.

Step 4: If you’re adding a photo to your frame, follow this step and then you’re done. If you’re not using a photo, skip this step and move on to step 5. It is likely that the open area in the center of your frame will now be about 5″ x 6″. Use a 5″ x 7″ photo and attach it to a colored (or white) piece of paper that will match your ornaments. Add the paper and photo to the back of the frame and you’re done!

Step 5: If you’re adding a verse or a phrase to the center, measure the open area in the center of your frame. It is likely that the open area in the center of your frame will now be about 5″ x 6″. Measure yours. Create a text box on your computer in Word and set the size of the box to what you measured. Be sure to set the box to transparent and set “no lines.” Print it out on a test page and hold it behind the glass. Make sure it lines up with your open area. If not make adjustments accordingly. And test print again.

To use my template for approximately a 5″ x 6″ open area, download it here: Holy Night.

Step 6: Once you get it aligned correctly, print on your desired paper and add to the back of the frame and you’re done! If you want to print it on book pages, cut a dictionary page to the right size, or, using double sided tape, add book pages to a regular piece of printer pager and feed through printer. Add to back of frame and you’re donzo!!

Well, winter has finally arrived. Despite taking it’s time, I’m glad to finally have some snow in this beautiful state!! Now that it’s not t-shirt weather, I can start thinking a little more about skiing! I have to admit, I hate the part that comes next…going to the attic to get my ski boots and skis. Now the problem is not going to the attic. The problem is what might have taken up residence in my ski boots over the spring and summer. I didn’t used to be this paranoid. Until..

A few years ago I went up to the mountains with a friend and it was the first ski day of the season! Got up to Mary Jane, got all our gear out of the car and started getting ready. Which is normally not the best time anyway, but then it came to putting on my boots. Got one on, no problems. But what do I see on my second boot right before I slide my foot in???

A SPIDER!!!!!!!!!

So I throw my boot and run to the other side of the car! “Oh my gosh kill it!” I reasonably commanded my friend to do. And I’m sure he would have, if in throwing my boot I didn’t lose the spider. So now we have one boot on, one boot in quarantine, and a lost spider. “That’s it, I’m not skiing today.”

“It’s just a spider,” he says. Yeah. Just. A. Spider. Not sure why he isn’t seeing the problem. “I’m not putting my foot in the spider boot. I choose death instead.”

After much persuading and an incredible lack of options, I put on my boot. Although I thought about it on every chair lift, and every second of down time, to my unlikely and incredible surprise, I did not get bit and die.

Hot White Chocolate With Caramel

Perfect day for some hot chocolate! Ever tried it with white chocolate and caramel?? I promise, you’ll want to! This recipe has been adapted from Passion For Savings.

What You Need:

3 oz. of premium baking white chocolate (you can use more if you want yours extra rich and sweet)

2 cups of non-fat milk (if you use 2% you will need to scoop off the thin layer of yellow at the end from the fat)

1/2 tbsp of vanilla extract

2 tbsp of caramel

marshmallows on top (optional)

Instructables:

Step 1: Combine milk and chocolate in a sauce pan on medium low heat. Stirring frequently. This will take about 20-25 minutes.

Step 2: Once warm, pour it into a glass and add caramel to each serving. Stir.

Step 3: Top with marshmallows if desired. Sit by fire and sip! Yummmm!! This makes enough for two people, but as you can tell by my 1 tall glass, I didn’t share 🙂

So this week one of my best friends got married!! My sweet friend Elyse got married at the History Colorado Center in Denver. I am so happy for her and her new husband! It was a fantastic time and such a wonderful event!! Very thankful for getting to be a part of her big day and celebrating that beautiful girl! (photo credit: Vert Photography)

Speaking of weddings, remember that plantable wedding invite I got a while back? Well I planted it a few days before their wedding and have been so excited to see what blooms. And I can finally show you. However, it wasn’t quite as big and bold as I was hoping…I had quite unrealistic expectations I guess, because I was hoping for some really awesome rare flower I had never seen before. It was really neat all the same to have anything grow at all though! This is what I got:

Melted Crayon in Glue Gun Art

This is a cheap project, and it’s fun to do! I thought it was so perfect to put pictures from the 5K Color Run that I did last year in it, but you could do this for a kids room, a dorm room, a party or event, or anything else creative you come up with!

What you need:

Canvas

Crayons

Glue gun (I used a mini that was going to be my “crayon glue gun” because this project might shorten its lifespan)

Newspaper

Paper cut outs where pictures will go

Screwdriver

Knife

Instructions:

Step 1: Organize your paper cuts outs on your canvas where you want your pictures to go so crayon doesn’t cover that area. Use double sided tape or fold the tape and stick it to the back of the paper.

Step 2: Next we have to make the glue gun crayon friendly. If your are using a large glue gun the crayons might fit, but if you are using a mini, you will have to follow this step. The “feeder” at the very back of the glue gun, where you first put in the glue stick, needs to come out. Unscrew the two sides of the glue gun, and you should be able to simply remove that mechanism. You will know you did it right if the “trigger” doesn’t work, because the trigger and the feeder work together. You will be using your thumb to feed the crayons later on, not the trigger.

Step 3: Line up all the crayons across the canvas side by side to see how many you’ll need, and then unwrap all the paper off of them.

Step 4: Lay down the newspaper. Once the glue gun is hot, feed your first crayon in the gun, and use your thumb to gently push it through. Hold your canvas upright, or at a slant while you drip the crayon on it. Be careful to try to avoid the spots where pictures will go. Even though we covered them, try as much as possible to avoid dripping on those spots, because it can be challenging to break the crayon drippings and get the paper cut outs off if there is too much.

Step 5: Layer, it’s more fun that way. When you are done, tip the glue gun backwards onto some newspaper to get the leftover color to pour out the back. I may or may not have accidentally done this step over my quilt and got some disgusting green crayon all over my comforter…

Step 6: GENTLY pull up the paper cut outs. If you can’t break the drippings easily, touch the area surrounding the paper cuts with the tip of the hot glue gun to melt them and pull off the paper. It’s okay if some of it gets where your pictures will go. If you break any areas you didn’t mean to break in the process, reseal them with the hot tip of the glue gun as well.

Step 7: Using a knife, scrap off the thick drippings that got in the area where your pictures will go.

Step 8: Glue on the pictures with hot glue. Just put dabs of glue in the four corners of the picture slot and stick on the picture.

Step 9: Use the hot tip of the glue gun to gently touch and blend the crayon around the edges of the pictures.

Did you guys carve pumpkins this month? This year I did Voldemort. And when my mom asked what I was carving, and I answered “Voldemort,” she goes, “Oh Baltimore!” Now there are lots of things I wanted to say in response to that, but the only thing that came out of my mouth is “why on earth would I carve Baltimore into a pumpkin?” So I went on to say “Voldemort!” to which she responded, “ohhhh, Voldemore.” I give up.

Step 1: Draw on design (yes, I was watching Coraline in the background)

Step 2: Carve and light!

Fried Honey Bananas

This is a quick and sweet dessert or snack! Admittedly, it’s not the most visually stimulating meal, but it tastes delicious! I also wanted to note that the next time around I would definitely leave them in the pan for longer.

What You Need:

1 banana

1 tbsp of honey

1/2 – 1 tbsp of water

1 tbsp Olive oil

A few dashes of cinnamon

Instructables:

Step 1: Heat the pan to medium heat and pour in the olive oil. Depending on the size pan you use, you may need more or less. You only want a light layer.

Step 2: Once the pan is hot, lay the slices in the pan. Cook each side for a few minutes. Check them every minute after 3 minutes. You want them to be a little more toasted and brown then mine are.

Step 3: While those are cooking, mix the honey and water in a small bowl.

Step 4: Once the bananas are done, remove from heat and pour the honey and water mixture over it. Plate and sprinkle with cinnamon.